LikeLike
by NeverQuiteFinished
Summary: Robin faintly wondered how a pep talk about mentors had led to this.


Like-Like

Superboy watched as Batman gave Robin a pat on the head and looked down at him. The Boy Wonder beamed up at his mentor and they shared a smile. It seemed to Superboy that Robin was the only person that could ever get the Dark Knight to smile, while he, Superman's clone, could do nothing but make the Man of Steel cringe and walk away. He envied Robin. He envied his relationship with his mentor while his own mentor, if indeed he could be called that, didn't even want to have anything to do with him.

He was lost in thought he barely heard the instructions Batman was now relaying to the team about their upcoming mission. He stood there silently until Batman stopped talking and turned to leave. Superboy walked in the opposite direction but stopped in his tracks when he heard Batman whisper something to Robin. "Be careful" the Dark Knight said to his protégé with actual concern in his voice. That was it. Superboy groaned out loud and stormed out of the room.

How could this be? Why was Batman so concerned about Robin? Why did he pat his head and smile at him with love in his eyes? Why couldn't Superman even be bothered to look at his clone? What was so much better about Robin and what could Superboy do to be better too? He walked into the workout room, fuming, and sat down on the ground with a thud. He almost felt like crying, and just as he was about to give into it, he heard a voice call his human name.

"Conner?" Great. It was Robin. Superboy fought away the tears and looked up at the Boy Wonder standing above him. "Are you ok, man?" Robin asked carefully, not knowing if Superboy was going to snap and punch him in the face. That would hurt. Superboy sighed and looked at Robin, studying him. He was much smaller and lankier than him, he had not super powers and let's face it, he was a nerd. But still he earned respect and caring from his mentor while he-

"Hey, Supes? Robin to Superboy!" Superboy's thoughts were interrupted by Robin again as he sat down next to him. "I'm not ok." He finally said, and Robin frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked with true concern for his friend. This annoyed Superboy a little. Robin was too nice. Maybe that was it? "I don't understand why Batman cares for you and Superboy won't even acknowledge I exist." Superboy finally admitted. "Oh." Robin said, somewhat unsure as to what to say next.

Robin knew very well that Superman was having a hard time accepting Superboy as his protégé, but he had no idea his relationship with Batman was a problem for the super-powered clone. "I mean," Superboy continued, "I don't understand what's so different between you and me, or me and any of the others. Their mentors like them too, and mine won't even look at me." Superboy turned his head aside trying once more to not let tears fall from his eyes. Robin felt bad about this and placed a supportive hand on Conner's shoulder.

"Well you gotta understand," Robin said, "Superman is having a hard time getting used to you because, well, you're him. You're his clone, Conner. As for the rest of us, we're either nephews or, in my case, sons." He stumbled a little at this as he tried not to say 'adoptive', "Superman sees you and sees himself, it confuses him and he has a hard time with you. It's just hard for him." Superboy had never thought about it that way. Robin sure had a way with words.

"Look Supes," Robin continued, "I know it must be frustrating for you to not have Superman like the rest of us have our mentors, but you just gotta give Clark some time to come to terms with you. I assure you it will happen eventually." Superboy turned to look at Robin and saw the smaller boy had a big, goofy smile on his face. It was contagious in a way, and Superboy couldn't help but smile as well. "Thank you, Robin." He said, and leaned in towards the boy to put his arms around him in a hug. He had read that humans often expressed their thanks with hugs, and if they were really thankful, they kissed each other on the cheek. So Superboy did just that, and placed his lips on Robin's cheek. He felt Robin tense up at his touch and backed away.

"Is something the matter?" Superboy asked with confusion. "Uh, no, yeah, I-I mean…" Robin couldn't find his words. He was blushing and his eyes, although covered with his trademark sunglasses, were wide open in shock. "You-you kissed me." He said to Superboy slowly as if making sure the bigger boy was aware of what he had just done. "Yes." Superboy said shortly. He wasn't sure why Robin was so shocked at this. "Why?" The boy asked, stunned. "Because you were helpful to me and made me feel better about my situation with Superman." Superboy explained plainly, still unaware of the reason for the Boy Wonder's stupefied state. "Was it wrong?"

"Well, um, I guess not." Robin spoke a little unsure of himself. He scratched his cheek, the very spot Conner had kissed, and chuckled lightly at the thought of actually kissing the clone. "It's not like you kissed me on the lips." Robin joked, trying to make light of his dire situation. "What, like this?" Conner asked, and without warning he had his lips firmly pressed onto Robin's who was too stunned to react. He could feel Conner's lips were rough yet surprisingly gentle compared to his brute strength. It was, in a way, enjoyable for the young superhero, until realization hit him at the fact that he was sharing his first kiss with a boy.

Robin pulled away harshly and stared into Conner's big blue eyes that were calmly staring back. "Dude, why'd you do that for?" He asked completely dumfounded. "What?" Superboy asked innocently. "I thought you wanted me to-" "Why would I want you to kiss me?" Robin interrupted him. "Was it bad?" the clone asked, not sure if Robin was upset because of the kiss itself, or because he hadn't done it well. After all, it was Superboy's first kiss too.

"No…" Robin answered instinctively. Indeed the kiss itself wasn't bad, not bad all. "It's just, you aren't supposed to do that." He finally said. "Why not?" Superboy asked. Robin couldn't believe his misfortune. How was he to explain to this clone how kissing another boy was wrong? He settled for "Well, we're both boys." "So?" _Touché, _Robin thought. "So, it's wrong for two boys to kiss on the lips." Robin continued. "Why?" Superboy asked again, his ever present curiosity about human behavior picked. "Because…" Robin paused, unsure on how to finish his sentence. "Because?" Superboy egged him on. "Because you're only supposed to kiss someone on the lips if you like them." Robin said matter-of-factly, pleased with his own answer.

_That should do it. _"But I do like you." Superboy said. _Dang. _"Not just like, but, you know, 'like-like.'" Robin tried to explain. He knew he had failed when he saw the perplexed look on Conner's face. "I must like you twice to kiss you?" He said, and Robin couldn't help but smile inwardly at how cute the words sounded coming from this grown body. Outwardly, he sighed. "No, Supes listen." Robin looked in to Conner's blue eyes, almost losing himself in their intensity as he tried to further explain the concept of 'like' and 'like-like'.

"People kiss when they have… amorous feelings for each other. When they 'like-like' each other." He stopped and carefully looked at Conner. The blue eyed boy was looking at the ground in deep thought, as if discerning his feelings for his fellow teammate were his top priority. He finally spoke up, slowly. "If I liked our kiss… does that mean I 'like-like' you?" He looked up at Robin waiting for an explanation and once again the boy was speechless. "I… um…" "Here, let me see." Conner said and for the second time that day, his lips met Robin's. He held them there, savoring the taste of the Boy Wonder, reveling in their soft-as-silk feel. He figured kissing him again would definitely answer if he had 'amorous feelings' for him or not.

Robin was not expecting to be kissed by Superboy, let alone twice. But this time, the kiss was much more welcomed. The young genius closed his eyes and let himself be taken into it, forgetting that two boys shouldn't kiss. He liked how assertive this kiss was, like Superboy had something to prove. When the clone finally pulled away, he looked at Robin and could tell, somehow, that his eyes were still closed behind his shades. Conner smiled at this. It seemed he was a good kisser after all.

When Robin finally came back to earth he noticed Conner looking at him and blushed madly. He stuttered as he asked "Why'd you do that again?" "I wanted to check if I 'like-like' you. I think I do." Superboy said and Robin stared at him, mouth agape. "You 'like-like' me?" he asked incredulously. "Yes." Superboy answered shortly, confidently. "Oh, well, I-" Robin was, yet again, at a loss for words. He didn't know if he had feelings for Superboy. Sure his kisses were fantastic and, well let's face it, he wasn't hard to look at, and his eyes, those eyes could look right through to your soul, and he hadn't even developed x-ray vision yet.

Maybe he did 'like-like' Conner. He looked at him and found he was looking right back, his blue eyes intense, a small smile gracing the corners of his mouth. His soft, tasty mouth. _Oh man, am I gay? _Robin thought to himself. Suddenly he didn't care if he was or wasn't. He just looked into those eyes and reached a hand instinctively towards them. He caressed Superboy's cheek and, without knowing, blurted out "I think I 'like-like' you too." Superboy's eyes lit up and a big, uncharacteristic smile was on his face. Without warning, he launched forward and wrapped Robin in a big, almost bone crushing hug.

"It makes me happy to hear you say that." Superboy said into Robin's ear. Robin shuddered at the closeness of Superboy's breath but smiled a big smile himself. "It makes me happy too." He said, completely sure that he meant it. Superboy pulled away and placed a hand on Robin's cheek. He smiled once more, and pulled the Boy Wonder closer to him, and this time, Robin gladly pulled into the kiss.

As their lips caressed each other in a sweet and gently dance, Robin faintly wondered how a pep talk about mentors had led to this.


End file.
